Infiltration Issue 0
Premise A young woman steals an item from a businessman that turns out to be more than meets the eye. Synopsis At a bus station in Phoenix, Arizona, young Verity Carlo is picking her marks when she spies a high-end palmtop PC in use by an anonymous businessman. Eager to nab the device, she's unaware that she's not the only person interested in the computer: from a nearby black sports car, someone—or some''thing''—is just as intrigued... Using a stolen ticket, Verity hops onto the same Los Angeles-bound coach as the businessman. While he's napping she lifts his palmtop computer then, with the help of a rancid bagel, feigns illness and is left at the side of the road. The coach bus takes off—followed closely behind by the two seemingly normal sports cars. n a bunker deep underneath Oregon, a report comes in: a target of interest has been "sanitized" but the "cache" is missing: a state of affairs that Starscream can't abide. Alone on the side of the road, Verity sticks out her thumb at the next car and is picked up by an intense young man named Hunter O'Nion, who is rather self-conscious about his last name. Verity tries to figure out why a kid like him is in the middle of nowhere. After Verity grills him about his alien paraphernalia, O'Nion exasperatedly reveals why he's come to the desert, only to swerve suddenly when he spies trouble up ahead. The two take a detour and discover that Verity's coach has been run off the road by two sports cars. Everyone's okay, except that the businessman whose palmtop Verity stole is missing. As the two depart, O'Nion explains his story: he runs a website devoted to alien conspiracy theories. Two years ago, he claims, Earth was invaded by aliens, and not just any aliens: these extraterrestrial visitors are, according to his findings, gigantic mechanoids who have escaped human detection by disguising themselves. A skeptical Verity has a good laugh at his expense... until a red light floods Hunter's van. Seconds later, the two humans realize that it's a scanning beam emitted by a blue fighter jet, who, on Starscream's orders, "contains" the two humans as they flee from their van, blowing their only means of escape to bits, and then prepares to "purge" the humans. Verity wonders if they can talk down the jet, but Hunter reveals that he got a good look at the jet's cockpit — and there's nobody's inside! As the jet comes around for another pass, the two humans try and make a break for it, but don't expect to be saved by an ambulance, who zooms to their rescue and sends the jet fleeing with a roof-mounted cannon. The ambulance's smiling driver reveals himself and tells them that, if they want to live, they'd better come with him! Characters * Ratchet * Runabout * Runamuck * Starscream * Thundercracker * Stoker * Verity Carlo * Hunter O'Nion Errors/Inconsistencies * After identifying herself as "Verity Carlo" in the narrative text, the character identifies herself to Hunter as "Verity Carter". An internal justification could be that "Verity Carter" is an alias she uses to prevent Social Services tracking her down, but when Ratchet asks for her name in issue #1 she answers with "Verity Carlo". * When Verity points her knife at the duffel bag on the bus, her right hand has six fingers. Also, when Verity whips out her dual mace spray attack, she has six fingers on each hand. * Hunter must possess both superhuman vision and nerves of steel to be able to see there is no pilot inside Thundercracker's cockpit as the Decepticon jet passes overhead. References * The use of Ratchet and Thundercracker as primary characters in this introduction to IDW's continuity may homage early stories of the Marvel Comics continuity. Specifically, Ratchet was the lead protagonist in Bob Budiansky's first story arc for the US comic book. Thundercracker, meanwhile, served as a main antagonist (or the main antagonist, depending upon the version and the coloring) for the first original story appearing in the Marvel UK comic, "Man of Iron". * Further, the emphasis on Transformers remaining disguised in alternate modes, even throughout battles, also seems to homage Man of Iron. Other than Starscream's shadowed back, no Decepticons are seen in robot mode in this issue, similar to how only alt-mode Decepticons appeared until the very end of the Man of Iron storyline. * Ratchet's holomatter driver states, "If you want to live, come with me," in a reference to the T-800's similar statement to Sarah Connor in the film Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Verity made fun of this in issue #1. Simon Furman would later be the author on a Terminator-based comic series called Terminator 2: Infinity. Trivia * As this is our intro to this new universe, it's told heavily from a human point of view. This also ties into the story's heavy emphasis on concealment and disguise. * The Transformers are shown to have concealed heavy artillery in their alternate modes. This will often be used in subsequent issues—the fight scenes in the next two issues are primarily done in vehicle mode. * The issue features a welcome page by Chris Ryall (as ChrisCharger), a 3-page interview with author Simon Furman, and 2 pages of sketches from artist E. J. Su, including a 1-page writeup. * Cover A features Jazz with his original Porsche 935 hood/chest, but when actually seen in the comic, he transforms into a current-model Porsche 911 (aka 997).